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This colorized image shows a species of the haloarchaea genus Halorubrum. Scale bar - 2 μm. Image credit: Reid et al, doi: 10.1017/S1473550406002916.

Biologists Find Arsenic-Breathing Microbes in Oxygen-Poor Regions of Pacific Ocean

May 9, 2019 by News Staff

A team of marine biologists from the University of Washington has found communities of arsenic-breathing microbes in the oxygen-deficient zones of the...

While wolves rely heavily on cooperation, dogs do so substantially less thus leading to the prediction that wolves are more prosocial than dogs. However, domestication hypotheses suggest dogs have been selected for higher cooperation, leading to the opposing prediction -- increased prosocial tendencies in dogs. To tease apart these hypotheses, Dale et al adapted a paradigm previously used with pet dogs to directly compare dogs and wolves. In a prosocial choice task, wolves acted prosocially to in-group partners; providing significantly more food to a pack-member compared to a control where the partner had no access to the food. Dogs did not. Additionally, wolves did not show a prosocial response to non-pack members, in line with previous research that social relationships are important for prosociality. Image credit: Dale et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215444.

Wolves are More Prosocial than Dogs, New Study Finds

May 8, 2019 by News Staff

In touchscreen experiments that allowed animals to provide food to others, wolves (Canis lupus) acted more prosocially toward their pack members than did...

The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Songbirds Have Unusual Chromosome in Germ Cells: Study

May 7, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has discovered that all songbirds have an additional chromosome in their germ cells — the ‘germline restricted...

A male giant panda named Xiao Liwu at San Diego Zoo, California, the United States. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: Giant Pandas are ‘Macronutritional Carnivores’

May 3, 2019 by News Staff

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) feed almost exclusively on highly fibrous bamboo, yet they bear a mix of herbivore and carnivore traits. A new study...

Isarachnanthus nocturnes. Image credit: Stampar et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-42621-z.

Tube-Dwelling Anemone Has Biggest Mitochondrial Genome Ever Sequenced

Apr 30, 2019 by News Staff

The banded tube-dwelling anemone (Isarachnanthus nocturnes), a sea creature that resembles a prehistoric flower, now holds the record for the largest mitochondrial...

The bicolored striped-sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens), a male, on spotted knapweed in the Rutgers-owned Hutcheson Memorial Forest in Franklin Township, Somerset County. Image credit: Michael Roswell / Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Study: Male and Female Bees Frequent Different Flowers

Apr 29, 2019 by News Staff

For scores of wild bee species, females and males visit very different flowers for food, according to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE. The...

Microbes drive most ecosystems and are modulated by viruses that impact their lifespan, gene flow, and metabolic outputs. However, ecosystem-level impacts of viral community diversity remain difficult to assess due to classification issues and few reference genomes. Gregory et al established an 12-fold expanded global ocean DNA virome dataset of 195,728 viral populations, now including the Arctic Ocean. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Biologists Find Nearly 196,000 Virus Species in Earth’s Oceans

Apr 26, 2019 by News Staff

Marine biologists on the Tara Oceans global oceanographic research expedition have identified nearly 196,000 marine virus species, which vastly exceeds...

The Wakatobi white-eye and the Wangi-wangi white-eye. Image credit: Nicola Marples / David Kelly.

Two New Species of White-Eyes Discovered in Indonesia

Apr 25, 2019 by News Staff

Two new species of the bird genus Zosterops (white-eyes) have been discovered in the forests of the Wakatobi Archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Wakatobi...

Researchers Find Odor Receptors on Human Tongue

Apr 24, 2019 by News Staff

Functional olfactory receptors — the sensors that detect odors in the nose — are also present in taste cells found on the human tongue, according...

A coelacanth. Image credit: Laurent Ballesta, Gombessa expeditions, Andromede Oceanology Lt.

Coelacanth Reveals Secrets of Vertebrate Skull Evolution

Apr 23, 2019 by News Staff

A new study into one of the world’s oldest types of fish, the coelacanth, illuminates for the first time the development of the brain and skull of this...

A desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti) defensively kicking away a sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) in mid-air. Image credit: Freymiller et al, doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz027.

High-Speed Videos Show Kangaroo Rats Using Ninja-Style Kicks to Escape Snakes

Apr 12, 2019 by News Staff

The desert kangaroo rats (Dipodomys deserti) is a species of rodent found in desert areas of southwestern North America. These rats are abundant and seemingly...

The view from the bottom of ‘Menara.’ Image credit: Unding Jami / University of Oxford.

World’s Tallest Tropical Tree Found in Malaysia

Apr 8, 2019 by News Staff

The world’s tallest known tropical tree, and possibly the tallest flowering plant, has been discovered in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in the Malaysian...

Achrioptera manga, an adult male from Foret d’Orangea, Madagascar. Image credit: Glaw et al, doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00105.

Malagasy Giant Stick Insects Play with Colors

Apr 4, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

In two new species of giant stick insects from the dry forests of Madagascar, males turn blue or multicolored at sexual maturity. Achrioptera manga, an...

The Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Image credit: Francis Franklin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Researchers Reconstruct Evolutionary History of Passerines

Apr 3, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has reconstructed the tree of life for all major lineages of passerines (perching birds). The Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes...

Mini mum in Manombo Special Reserve, lateral view on a thumbnail. Image credit: Scherz et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213314.

Researchers Find Coin-Sized Frogs in Madagascar

Apr 1, 2019 by News Staff

An international team led by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München scientist Mark Scherz has described a new genus and five new species of tiny frogs...

The cream-eyed bulbul (Pycnonotus pseudosimplex) in Lambir Hills National Park, Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Image credit: John C. Mittermeier / Shakya et al, doi: 10.25226/bboc.v139i1.2019.a3.

Cream-Eyed Bulbul: New Species of Bird Discovered

Mar 29, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of ornithologists led by Louisiana State University researchers has discovered a cryptic new species of bulbul in the Malaysian part...

Davis et al detected BMAA in the cerebral cortex of stranded dolphins; they also report Alzheimer-like neurodegenerative changes in the brains of dolphins containing BMAA. Image credit: NASA.

Scientists Find Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin and Amyloid Plaques in Brains of Stranded Dolphins

Mar 29, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

High levels of BMAA (β-methylamino-L-alanine), a neurotoxin produced by cyanobacterial blooms, and beta-amyloid plaques, a hallmark in human beings of...

A dark-eyed junco, an American goldfinch, and a house finch feed on sunflower seeds on a snowy day. Image credit: Cynthia Raught.

Study: People Who Feed Wild Birds Notice and Respond to Nature in Their Backyards

Mar 28, 2019 by News Staff

Backyard bird feeding is a popular form of human-wildlife interaction in certain regions of the northern and southern hemisphere including North America,...

Male of Surazomus saturninoae: (A) lateral, (B) dorsal and (C) ventral views. Image credit: G.R.S. Ruiz & R.M. Valente, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213268.

New Species of Short-Tailed Whip Scorpion Discovered

Mar 27, 2019 by News Staff

A duo of arachnologists from Brazil has discovered a new species of short-tailed whip scorpion in eastern Amazon. Male of Surazomus saturninoae: (A) lateral,...